Entrenched in Nightmares
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: When Hermione has nightmares from her experiences in the Second Wizarding War, Ron and Harry have to calm her down. In doing so, old grudges see the light of day and must be navigated to salvage their friendship.
1. Chapter 1: Trauma Coming Back

**Chapter 1: Trauma Coming Back**

A scream pierced the dreamless slumber of Ronald Weasley. He could hear his wife's voice piercing through the night.

"No, Harry! Don't you dare die on me, Harry Potter! I've lost him; I've lost Ron already! I won't lose you too! No, don't leave me here alone! Come back! HARRY! RON! NOOOO!"

Ron rolled over in the bed they shared to find Hermione trashing under the covers. She finally came into the conscious world: sweaty, screaming, eyes darting wildly about. Ron refrained from taking her in his arms just yet. Once long ago, he had made that mistake, and Hermione - thinking she was still in a dream with hostile enemies - punched him in the face. He'd had a black eye for weeks afterward…Instead, he used his voice as a calmer.

"Sssh, Hermione. It's OK, my beloved, I'm right here…" Only now, as she began to get her bearings, did he wrap her in a tight embrace, holding her close. She clung to him, feeling his T-shirt and his skin, as if to assure herself that he was real.

"Hermione, who am I?"

"R-Ron Weasley. My husband; my lover. The father of my children," Hermione sniffled.

"And where are we?"

"In our bed, in our home in Ottery St. Catchpole."

"That's right. We're at home, in bed. Our children are safe; Rose and Hugo are asleep downstairs." Ron soothed. He chuckled. "You passed that test with flying colors, like you always have. Because you're brilliant. And you're safe. Nothing can hurt you. Nothing will hurt you ever again." _I'll make sure of it_ , he thought.

Hermione looked up into her husband's face, tears streaming down her face. "I need to see Harry. Now!" She pleaded. "I need to make sure he's safe!"

"Love, Harry is safe. He's with Ginny and the kids…"

"I know! Just…" she took a breath. "Please call him; ask him to come here. For me." She gave him a sweet look that Ron knew he could not resist. After a moment, he sighed and reached for the phone.

* * *

Meanwhile, across town, a sudden ringing pulled Harry Potter out of sleep. Through bleary eyes, he saw his landline phone on the bedside table light up. _I'm going to kill whoever thinks they can call me at this time of night…it's probably a damn reporter…_ He picked up quickly so as not to wake his wife or the rest of the house. "Hello?" he groused, not even trying to hide the anger in his voice.

"Harry? It's Ron." Harry sat up a little straighter. The anger in his voice diminished, but only slightly. If Ron was calling him at 3:00 in the morning, there had to be a good reason. _What if something's wrong? With Hermione? Or the kids?_

"Hermione had another nightmare," Ron continued. "And it was about you. She wants to see you to make sure you're OK."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

Harry sighed. If it had been anyone other than Hermione or Rose or Hugo, he would have told Ron to take a hike. "I'll be over there in a few minutes." With that, he hung up, quietly got out of bed (Ginny hadn't even stirred) and slipped downstairs to the Floo fireplace. Grabbing some powder, he hissed, "17 Hickleberry Street, Ottery St. Catchpole!" With a whoosh of green flames, he was gone.


	2. Chapter 2: The Blame Game

**Chapter 2: The Blame Game**

Ron met Harry at the Weasley fireplace. Also there was Harry's mother-in-law, Molly Weasley. Ron explained that he had summoned her as back-up (which Harry took to mean that, in addition to caring for her daughter-in-law, Molly could head off any stirring from Rose and Hugo). The men slipped upstairs, following Molly and talking in low whispers.

"Thanks for coming, mate."

"Always, for you and Hermione. What's wrong? She hasn't had a nightmare in ages…"

"I know, it's been a long time."

"How long, would you say?"

"…10, 11 months ago."

"10, 11 months ago?! Blimey, Ron this is serious!"

"It could be; I don't know. You remember how she was those first few years after the War? She'd have nightmares every night, practically - even after we got married. Then, around the time we learned she was pregnant with Rose, they became less frequent. Almost stopped, even. I don't think she had a single nightmare when she was pregnant with either of the kids."

"Thank Merlin for that," Harry muttered.

They reached the master bedroom to find Hermione sitting on the bed.

"Oh, my dear girl!" Molly cried once she saw the state Hermione was in. The Weasley family matriarch wrapped Hermione in a tight hug. Hermione gave a watery smile.

"I'm fine, Molly, really."

"You will be, don't you worry. Mummy's here, darling. You poor thing! You look like you've had quite a fright!" Hermione nodded mutely. Then, she looked over Molly's shoulder. Upon seeing Harry, a look of intense - almost terrified - relief filled Hermione's face and she leapt out of Molly's embrace and into Harry's arms. Harry hugged her back, stroking her hair as she cried into his shoulder. "Thank heavens you're safe," she hiccuped.

"It's all right. Sssshhh. You're safe now. Sssshh…."

Harry looked over at Ron. He was standing there, smiling at the tender sight. Harry had to give him credit: the jealously and paranoia Ron had once felt over the relationship between his brother-in-law and his wife was clearly long gone, killed with the cursed locket Horcrux oh so long ago.

Harry kissed Hermione's hair, and then dried her tears. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I…I dreamed of Christmas Eve, after we escaped Nagini. You were dying; Voldemort was taking over your mind; Ron was still gone and I…I never felt so alone…"

Harry remembered that hellish night; it had only been a few days before Ron returned for good.

When Hermione had calmed down, Harry offered to stay the night and sleep on the couch. Hermione nodded gratefully and Ron agreed. Seeing that she would not be needed to keep watch after all, Molly bid her children goodnight, and Flooed back to the Burrow. Harry sent off an owl to Ginny to let him know where he was, went down to the living room couch, and fell asleep.

* * *

A couple hours later, a second scream from Hermione woke Harry up. He stumbled upstairs to Ron and Hermione's bedroom to find the couple holding each other in bed.

"She…she wouldn't stop cursing me…." Hermione sobbed.

One word popped into Harry's brain: Bellatrix. He sat on the bed on Hermione's other side and stroked her back.

After a moment, Harry noticed an almost steely glare in Ron's eyes. Nothing could be read on his face, but Harry could tell that there was a burning anger there…and it was being directed at him. Harry began to wonder whether he had been wrong to think that Ron's paranoid jealously was gone, when another thought tugged at him:

 _He blames you for Hermione's trauma, her torture. He thinks you caused it. He blames you._

Harry decided to confront this hypothesis head-on.

"Ron? Care to share why you're so angry with me?"

Ron blinked. "I'm not angry at you…"

"Don't lie to me!" Harry suddenly barked in rage; he ignored Hermione's frightened looks between him and her husband. "You know what? It's all coming back! I said You-Know-Who's name even though you knew it was Tabooed and that's how we got caught! You think that if I hadn't said that, what happened to Hermione at Malfoy Manor wouldn't have happened! Thus, it's my fault that she's like this! You blame me for all her trauma!"

"I DO NOT!" Ron roared, bounding off the bed in outrage.

"Yeah you do," Harry said shortly. "You just don't have the balls to say it to my face! You never have! But you know what? Blame me all you want! It really is irrefutable logic when you stop and think about it. I can't say anything to the contrary! Maybe it's best that we just accept it and not talk about it - even if you and I both want an apology from each other. Even if you still are a resentful prat!"

"Ron, love - Harry, please stop! You'll wake Rosie and Hugo…" Hermione was crying, and if Ron or Harry had paused for two seconds, they would have been reminded of another argument on another dark night…one that she now seemed to be witnessing all over again in a deja-vu moment.

" _Get out of my house!_ " Ron snapped, pointing to the door. "We will discuss this later. Right now, I don't want to see you." Harry got up from the bed.

Suddenly, a creak made them all jump and glance at the door. 6-year-old Rose was standing in the doorway.

"Daddy? What's the matter? Why are you yelling at Uncle Harry?"

Hermione beckoned to her daughter, who flew into her arms on the bed. "It's all right, my precious. Daddy, Uncle Harry and I were just having a discussion and we still have to resolve it."

"Is it about something from long ago?"

Hermione was amazed at her daughter's perceptiveness, and wondered how much, if anything, Rose had overheard. She took Rose's face in her hands and lifted it up so she could stare into her child's eyes. "Yes. And when you're older, you'll understand," Hermione promised soothingly. She kissed Rose's forehead sweetly.

"I'll see you in the morning," Harry grumbled. He kissed Rose on the cheek and stormed out of the room. A POP of Apparating denoted his exit from the house. Silently, Hermione carried Rose back to her room before she and Ron went back to bed themselves. As they lay there side by side, Ron half-expected his wife to chastise him for kicking Harry out of their house. He was grateful when no words of reproach came, yet chalked it up to Hermione being too exhausted to say anything - what with all the nightmares and the stress of watching her most cherished family members fight….

* * *

Ron lay awake long after his wife had fallen back to sleep. He stroked her face lovingly, admiring her features even as she slept. "Of all the wonders I've seen," he murmured softly and full of tenderness, "I've never looked upon anyone as beautiful as you." Eventually, he too dozed off. This time, there were no more nightmares for either of them.


	3. Chapter 3: The Walls Come Down

**Chapter 3: The Walls Come Down**

The next morning, Harry heard the doorbell ring while he and Ginny were getting an early pot of coffee; James, Albus and Lily were still asleep. He answered to find Ron and Hermione on the stoop. Harry stiffened.

"I didn't think you'd take 'See you in the morning' so literally."

Ron gave a strained smile. "We have to talk about it sometime. Rose and Hugo are still asleep; we'll be back before they wake up." He and Hermione came in and the Golden Trio gathered in the living room. Ginny took a place on the couch just to silently observe.

"Harry, I…" Ron began. He took a breath. "I just wanted to say…you were right."

Harry blinked. "What?"

"You were right. Whether I was conscious of it or not, I did blame you in some ways for Hermione's torture. All this time, I was only semi-aware that I had placed a root cause on all the nights of PTSD and nightmares my wife has had to endure. And that root cause was you. You saying Voldemort's name. I'm so ashamed I could think that of my own brother; my best friend. So, I want you to know that…I forgive you."

Harry fought the urge to let tears invade.

"Even more than that. I don't blame you for Hermione's torture. Not anymore."

Harry struggled past the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry…I accused you of blaming me."

Unable to stand it any longer, Harry embraced his best friend…then promptly broke down weeping in his arms. He wept because he deeply regretted saying Voldemort's name, and - though he had just been absolved of any wrong-doing - a part of Harry still blamed himself for what had happened to Hermione…and he felt deep guilt for it.

"It should have been me," Harry moaned. "Bellatrix should have taken me…"

"Don't say that. Don't let me ever hear you say that," his brother-in-law admonished. Ron hugged him just as strongly, rubbing circles along his back.

"It's all right. We're still a family. Past's in the past. Just let it out." He met his wife and sister's eyes and reassured them, "He's' fine, he's fine."

Hermione approached the men and kissed Harry's temple. "And I have never blamed you for my torture, Harry. I love you; you're my brother." This set Harry off on another round of hysterical crying. Hermione could only shake her head in disbelief.

"Boys!" she wondered aloud.


	4. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Several weeks later, Rose's Muggle primary school teacher called on her to present her report. In the back of the classroom sat Harry, Hermione and Ron; the latter held a camcorder.

Rose's class had been assigned to write a small essay on a special relationship in their lives. It could have been a relationship they had with someone else or a relationship between other people that they observed. Remembering the argument Ron and Harry had had that one night, Rose decided to write a report on her parents' and uncle's relationship. Harry, Ron and Hermione had helped her out as best they could, telling her stories she was old enough to hear (while leaving out scary parts) and helping her write the report in a way that would not reveal their magical background to her Muggle class.

"My Mummy and Daddy and Uncle Harry are best friends. They've been best friends since they were kids." Rose began. "When I was little, I noticed how they could tell each other anything, and sometimes even seemed to know what each of them was thinking. They know each other so well. A long time ago, Mummy, Daddy and Uncle Harry went through a very difficult time. They don't like to talk about it, and don't with me or my brother. My parents and Uncle Harry have a relationship that I don't think I'll ever understand - even when I'm old enough to hear all their stories from when they were kids. But what makes their relationship so special is that they went from being best friends to being family - when Mummy and Daddy fell in love and got married, and Uncle Harry married Daddy's sister, my Aunt Ginny. I look up to all three of them so much and hope that I can be as close to my friends as they are."

Rose's class applauded.

"Thank you, Rose," her teacher said. "What a wonderful report!" Rose ran back to the rear of the classroom to hug her father, mother and uncle. Such touching and wonderful testimony meant that the Potter/Weasley family was closer than ever.


End file.
